Many experts believe that breakfast is our most important meal — especially for children. Here are some ideas for nutritious meals in the morning.

Ideally, breakfast should contain about a third of your daily protein needs. Burritos on whole grain tortillas, containing eggs or scrambled tofu, beans, and low fat cheese are great hand-held take-along foods. Prep some of the ingredients the night before so all you have to do is warm them up. Whole grains, nuts, seeds, and cereals with low fat or alternative milks are other sources of protein. Add nitrate/nitrite free or soy breakfast sausages for an extra protein boost.

While many people go for the “blenderized” breakfast, this may not be enough stick-to-the-ribs nutrition for children. Adding tahini to the smoothie adds calcium and body to the drinkable breakfast. If going the smoothie route, supplement it with whole grain toast with nut butters, whole grain cereal, or other long-term energy providers. Nut butters are a great source of protein and come in almost as many varieties as nuts themselves. Go for raw, without sugar or hydrogenated oils added. Skip hydrogenated margarines completely.

On cooler mornings, nothing tastes better than hot cereal with a dash of cinnamon, maple syrup or honey. Check out the bulk section of your food market for a wide variety at money-saving prices. Look for whole grain unprocessed cereals and other high-fiber foods (beans, whole grain cereals, fresh fruit and veggies). They help stimulate the digestive tract and improve colon health by providing the necessary bulk to carry away toxins during elimination.

Calcium can easily be found beyond the traditional diary foods. Consider dried beans, sesame seeds and butter, tahini, almonds, oats, dried figs, blackstrap molasses, carob, and tofu. Dark green leafy veggies are another source of calcium — a traditional breakfast food in some cultures, although many people here may find them a little weird for breakfast. If you don’t have these vegetables for breakfast, be sure to include them at lunch and dinner.

Try Sue’s Hi Calcium “Mol-nilla.” Mix blackstrap molasses with a dash of vanilla and a good dose of cinnamon. Add sesame butter or tahini and “marble” the blackstrap mixture as you would when marbling a cake. Place the mixture in the refrigerator to set, where it will keep for two weeks or more. This high-calcium spread is delicious for breakfast or lunch on toast, bread, crackers, rice cakes, or dabbed on cereal.

Broaden your breakfast experience by adding some of these nutritious, healthy options to your menu.

Robin Seydel has worked for 20 years on building the alternative economic system at La Montanita Co-op as its newspaper editor and membership, community outreach and education coordinator. She is a board member of the national Organic Consumers Association, and is a registered organic grower of medicinal herbs. For the co-op locations in New Mexico, visit www.lamontanitacoop.com.

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Comments (1)

Chia porridge with alomnd milk (I’ll be posting a recipe like that later)! A quick easy way to get some calcium is to throw chia seeds or nuts into your smoothies, or onto your salads. Oh, and 1 cup of alomnds provides 324 mg (which is more than a cup of milk). Great for a snack!Take care!